I don't own the pokemon story or it's characters!

CHAP. 2: Journey's anew!, Team Galactic VS. Starly... and Dawn?


"Alrighty then! Chimchar, it was great to meet you, but Piplup is my pokemon. You belong to... to..." She looks up to wait for his answer.

"It's Brayden." He replies flatly. "I plan to become the world's best Top Coordinator!"

"Is that so?" Noelle smirks, scanning the cockiness of the boy, then glancing at her friend. "It just so happens I want to be a coordinator, too!" She meets his challenging gaze with her own. "This should be fun! A new and difficult opponent."

"Really?" He scans her to see her worth. " Alright, battle me." He says in a cool tone as if she'd be nothing to defeat.

"You're on!" Noelle says, getting into stance. "...um...Piplup?...?" she facepalms.

"Hahaha!" He laughs. "So... I'm a nice guy and all but I don't have time to wait while you awaken sleeping beauty over there. I have buisness to take care of! See you around, CoordiNOTor!" The name was enough to enrage Noelle, let alone him just tossing her battle aside like she was weak! She'd show him if it was the last thing she'd ever do!

They all go back into the lab and Tristan stands between the two rivals. Noelle's anger is so thick it could be cut with a knife and Brayden chuckled under his breath from time to time making her madder. Lucas went on with his presentation although he saw the rivalries already brewing under those expressions, especially because his daughter is a very emotionally present person. Tristan began to get nervous, never seeing someone hit the ceiling quite like Noelle. Lucas just went about his presentation of the Pokedexes and the five Pokeballs and including the special one with their starter's type symbol on the red half above the button.

Each one took his or her own starter kit starting with Brayden, taking his and turning to Noelle with a smirk. Noelle's anger turned a corner and she began to get nervous... a twisted feeling crept into her stomach as he glared at her. Did she make the right choice by abandoning her rivalry with Tristan? Did she hurt his feelings? Was it too late to change her mind? All these questions flowed into her mind, seemingly from no where. Noelle made the choice to not rival her friend because Brayden seemed more of a difficult challenge to her. Was it too rash of a choice? Now it was Tristan's turn he picked up his pokeballs and pokedex and came to the realization he had no one to be his rival, the one person he thought would always be his main rival and friend just abandoned him. Tristan didn't show a hurt expression, mainly because Brayden and Noelle were having a stand-off of their own. He knew exactly what his journey would consist of. If he couldn't be a rival to his friend, he would just travel with her while conducting his gym battles and training for his ultimate goal, the Sinnoh League. Noelle took a deep breath and held it all the way through recieving her pokeballs and pokedex. She was still unsure of her decision to challenge Brayden, but she had to do something to hide her expression, so she made her face red by holding her breath, to make herself look mad at him. she quickly rushed through collecting the pokeballs and her pokedex and got back in line for the parting lecture from her dad. She let out the air in her lungs and gasped silently for oxygen, to not let Brayden know her secret. The three didn't much pay attention to what was said to them, because in all their own ways they were debating what they would do on their journey's and what to conquer first. There was so much to do in such a vast world. The first thing they would do is show off their new partners to their parents and friends, and begin training and catching some more new partners.

The lecture finally ended but not soon enough for the eager trio of new trainers. They bolted out of the lab off towards their home's, but something pulled Noelle's interest to follow Brayden to his home, and Tristan saw her seaking behind Brayden and followed her as well. Ledges marked the area as being the road to Twinleaf Town.

"That must have been what made him late." Noelle said, not quietly enough because Brayden heard her and hid between trees while she was struggling down a ledge.

"What are you doing?" Tristan scolded bluntly, scaring her into falling the rest of the way down the ledge, where she landed on her butt in the dirt.

"Ow!... What was that for?" She whined. "My hair is going to be dirty now..." She takes a hairtie from her wrist and ties it, leaving it in a large lime green loop that fell to the center of her back.

"Are you going to stalk Brayden now? I mean, he seems like a pretty interesting guy... What happened to our childhood together and wanting to challenge the gyms for the eight badges?" Tristan said, letting his feeling upset towards her come out in a mix of anger and jealously.

"Tristan, I'm s-" She hung her head, but was cut off by a shriek from a pokemon crashing beside her. "What?" She leapt in the air out of suprise.

Yellow sparks flashed from this pokemon, a small black bird pokemon. Noelle knew all the pokemon herself from memory, this was a Starly. She still got out her pokedex to collect the data for her dad, and Tristan followed her example. Noelle looked down at Starly who, she noticed, had a problem...

"Paralysis!" Noelle called out. "But what-"

"Shhhhhiiiiinx" The cry of a Shinx split the air as the pokemon lunged though the bushes at the defenseless Starly. A thundershock split itself from the Shinx's body to the Starly. The Starly squeals from the pain and continues it's retreat.

"What's a Shinx doing here?" Noelle questioned as she scanned the pokemon along with Tristan.

"Back away from that Starly, it's mine!" Erupted a voice from the bush behind them and an oddly dressed person crawled from the bushes. "In the name of Team Galactic, I claim this Starly for myself!" The man launched a pokeball at Starly but before it could be captured Brayden lunged from his hiding place to deflect the pokeball away from this foul enemy.

"Why you little brat! Don't you know that you can only catch pokemon in pokeballs?" The Galactic Man shouted in anger.

"I won't allow you to capture that pokemon!" Brayden shouted while clutching his sore stomach.

"I will have that Starly, whether you like it or not!" The grunt was ready to fight for the pokemon, as he reached for a pokeball. Tristan and Brayden stepped forward to accept his challenge.

"Noelle, run!" Tristan called out to her, She collected the Starly and ran, she had no idea how far away Twinleaf was, but was certain it was closer than Sandgem. She finally made it into town, but there wasn't a pokemon center in town. She ran into the center of the small town and began screaming for help.

"SOMEONE HELP! ANYONE PLEASE! TEAM GALACTIC HURT THIS WILD STARLY!" She wailed repeatedly.

Nearby, Dawn was making last minute preparations for her journey with Brayden as her rival. Her Piplup and Buneary were helping her pack for a new journey, they were excited because they hadn't had a real journey in ten years, Dawn's pokemon were happy to be on a journey. Ten years was a long time, but they knew things about Dawn and why she avoided going on a journey, they couldn't tell her why she didn't. "Her memories had all been erased, but in time the memories would serve a purpose." Was the message they were given all those years ago.

Dawn's Pokemon picked up on Noelle's distress calls for help and it made their ears twitch and perk up. Piplup and Buneary looked around for the person that needed the aid.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked them, but they bolted off in the direction to the center of town where Noelle was screaming. She was nearly out of breath and had a hoarse voice at that point.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked again, but spotted the Starly and crying girl.

She pulled out a full heal and a potion to help her out without an introduction. Noelle was obviously a noob and she looked the part as well, with her fresh clothes and scrawny knees figure. Dawn had trouble remembering her days as a noob herself, but she didn't know why and Brayden egged her into rediscovering a hidden past that she long forgot. The idea of going out again made her nervous, but as a kid Brayden was so annoying about her leaving, her recent "journeys" were actually campouts at the opposite shore of Lake Verity, it got him to quit bugging her for a few weeks. She honestly didn't understand what took away from her zest for traveling with her pokemon, the aura of mystery surrounded it.

"There! All better!" Dawn shook off her thoughts with her usual cheerfulness, but it was forced.

"Thank you." Noelle replied hoarsely. "This wild Starly was attacked and Team Galactic tried to take it for themselves. Some of the other new trainers are holding off the grunt on the outskirts of Sandgem town on route 201."

"Okay." Dawn replied, taking Noelle's hand and leading her to her front porch. "This is my house, I'm Dawn, no time to talk, I'll be right back!" Dawn bolted off in the direction to the north and followed route 201 to the location where the two boys were close to defeat.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" Dawn commanded her own little blue penguin pokemon. A swirling blue wall of water swirled up some power, Piplup launches it at the Shinx and the Galactic grunt dousing them in water and repelling them backward. The duo glared at Dawn and her Piplup and, without a word, ran off in the direction to Sandgem Town.

"Are you two okay?" Dawn turned to them. "Your friend has quite the set of lungs, My pokemon heard her from the center of town." They laughed at the joke and made their way to Twinleaf Town to meet up with Noelle on Johanna and Dawn's front porch.

They sat on the porch tending to the wounds of their pokemon with borrowed potions and full heals from Dawn. In no time the group's pokemon were all ready and Dawn was packed for her travels. Brayden took no time to wait for Dawn or to even say his farewells to her, he wanted to make sure he was alone and got a head start to Jubilife City's Television Studio's 10th annual New Coordinator Convention and Contest. There he could get registered, get tips on poffins, training, costuming, and combinations, all before going off to prepare for the next day's contest.

Noelle still sat with the wild Starly in her arms. It began to stir after a few minutes in her arms, it opened it's eyes and recognized Noelle as the trainer who saved it from Team Galactic. Starly relaxed and shut it's eyes, which made Noelle smile, seeing the relief in the eyes of the pokemon.

"Can I catch you?" She whispered to Starly. He opened his eyes to face her and without out a sound she understood what to do... In the next chapter.


I hope you are enjoying Coordinatng Rivalries. Come back for chapter 3 to see what Noelle has decided. Feel free to leave a review anytime.